Don´t you hassle the Hoff!

If you were born in the early 80s or before, you cannot have escaped this guy on TV.

He was strutting around on the beach, surrounded by gorgeous women with perfect bodies in red swim suits, pretending to save people from drowning.

When we arrived in Berlin on our 4 week interrail and couchsurfing trip, we were shocked to find out that a whole museum had been dedicated to the actor from Baywatch. But it turned out to be not as strange as it first seemed. The actor did actually play a part in events surrounding the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, as he, on a crane above the Brandenburg Gate on New Year's Eve in 1989, performed his hit song "Looking for freedom" to a crowd of thousands of Berliners.

"Did David Hasselhoff end the Cold War? Yes he did"

Well, at least that is what it says in the museum.

An excerpt from our book:

We can hardly believe our ears when we learn there's an entire museum in Berlin dedicated to the chiseled guy in red swim trunks from Baywatch. But the bizarre becomes more understandable with a bit of context – David Hasselhoff actually played a small, yet unforgettable role during the historic fall of the Berlin Wall. On New Year's Eve 1989, just a month after the Iron Curtain had collapsed, the famous soap opera actor was hoisted above a crowd of half a million cheering Berliners on a crane and performed his hit song Looking for Freedom. Since then, he has become a tongue-in-cheek symbol of liberation—however absurd that might sound. And just as surreal is the experience of descending the stairs into the basement of the building where the museum is housed. An entire wall is adorned with Hasselhoff's muscular torso. In a glass display case sits his autobiography Making Waves, a CD, a DVD box set of the TV series Knight Rider, and other assorted merchandise. Another case displays the iconic red swim trunks from his lifeguard days on the beaches of California, an inflatable rescue raft, a magazine article titled Did David Hasselhoff End the Cold War? Yes, He Did, along with several VHS tapes and books chronicling his entertainment career.

While Ylva and I giggle our way through the museum's oddball collection, twelve-year old Tim, understandably, has no connection whatsoever to David Hasselhoff and isn't particularly impressed by the visit.

Curious to find out more about Berlin and our interrail and couchsurfing trip through Eastern Europe?

Please read more here

And here you could get your own copy of the book